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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071912">If At First You Don't Succeed...</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomhivemast3r/pseuds/phantomhivemast3r'>phantomhivemast3r</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bartimaeus - Jonathan Stroud</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Humor, Post-Ptolemy's Gate, non-canon compliant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:20:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23071912</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomhivemast3r/pseuds/phantomhivemast3r</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Ptolemy's Gate, Kitty attempts to put things right between Bartimaeus and Nathaniel. Unfortunately, it doesn't go quite as planned.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>If At First You Don't Succeed...</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This short story was written for the March 2020 Bartimaeus Prompt Week. The prompt used was "Role Reversal."</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">If At First You Don't Succeed...</span>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>“<em>How?!</em>” Bartimaeus and Nathaniel exclaimed in unison, matching looks of horror on their faces.</p>
<p>“Hold on, hold on!” Kitty exclaimed, frantically flipping through the massive stack of notes in her lap. She sat cross-legged in one of the summoning circles, occasionally shooting a worried glance at the pair in the adjacent set of runes.</p>
<p>“You’d better fix this <em>stat, </em>kid,” said Nathaniel’s body, though the voice that came out of it was distinctly <em>not </em>his. Kitty paused her wild search to shoot a scathing look across the room.</p>
<p>“If<em> you’d</em> like to do this for me, be my guest!” she snapped, and the boy crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He made a move as if to rise into the air but only succeeded on tripping over his own feet and falling hard onto his knees. He let out a shriek of pain and cursed in a language a thousand years forgotten.</p>
<p>“Hey! Watch what you’re doing with my body!” the djinni by his side exclaimed, floating a little too high. Still grumbling, Nathaniel’s body righted itself on shaky legs, then quickly grabbed the djinni’s foot and pulled him towards the floor.</p>
<p>“And watch what you’re doing with <em>mine, </em>you idiot! Do you want to phase through the ceiling?!”  </p>
<p>“Will you two <em>shut up?!”</em> Kitty yelled, and the pair froze to look at her. She sighed and went back to the notes. “I must’ve misread something, or spoke the wrong syllable somewhere… Sorry, I’ll fix it in a moment!”</p>
<p>Bartimaeus and Nathaniel looked at each other, and then the floating djinni’s shoulders sagged.</p>
<p>“We know, Kitty, no need to apologize; <em>we're </em>sorry for being so difficult,” he said quietly, and the boy holding his foot widened his eyes as if he’d just heard someone confess to a murder.</p>
<p>“Wow, Nat, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Bartimaeus commented.</p>
<p>“Oh, be quiet,” Nathaniel snapped. “And stop <em>smirking</em> like that; it makes me look demented!”</p>
<p>“What, like <em>this</em>?”</p>
<p>“Ugh, yes! <em>Stop</em>!”</p>
<p>Kitty sighed again and tried to tune her companions out. They could be nearly intolerable when fused together, but Kitty was swiftly realizing that them being in the <em>wrong</em> bodies was far, far worse.</p>
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